Doctor, heed thyself!
‘Tis the age of competitive intolerance. And India’s kept prime minister had this to say about the ‘boycott’ of Aamir Khan’s Fanaa in Gujarat.
“Every citizen has the freedom of expression as long as he does not indulge in unconstitutional activities,” Singh said in reply to a question at a press conference here. [Chennai Online]
That is as it should be. The trouble is that he is remarkably nonchalant when it comes to applying this rule to his own government. Since when did the Indian constitution give the heads of a religious community oversight over the Censor Board?
I am glad you raise that point in the end. It was really disgusting that the Minister overruled the Censor Board’s decision. These arbitary decisions are what come back and bite later.
Calling it “double standards” is like giving that dishonourable terminology a bad name.
Nitin,
In other news relating to freedom and secularism, Punjab & Nagaland have banned the movie Da Vinci Code.
Surprisingly (or not) the secular media is very silent on this.
Regards
PS. Lest someone accuses me I do think the idea of banning Fanna is maha stupid. However I am ok if someone decided to boycott the movie.
Let me point out something that should be obvious. Citizens should not normally be able to indulge in unconstituional behavior. The Constitution is a set of laws for the government, not for the people.
I wonder: Can the “kept PM” Dr Manmohan Singh debase himself any further?
I realize of course that to agree to be kept is debasement enough and it is hard to sink further when you have touched rock bottom. But I must say that Dr Singh is trying hard to burrow into the rock and go deeper.
It is a sad sad situation. And fantastically absurd as well.